§ 13. Mr. GaleTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the effect on Britain's contribution to international peacekeeping operations of reducing United Kingdom defence spending to the European average. [16850]
§ Mr. PortilloIf any Government were to reduce spending to the European average of 2.3 per cent. of gross domestic product, they would be forced to cut spending on defence by as much as £4.5 billion. This would severely undermine our capacity to undertake operations of any kind.